BarDown is a subsidiary of The Sports Network (TSN) focused on pop culture and attracting a younger audience. Created in 2014, the website and YouTube content have become one of TSN's most popular segments.

History

On March 4, 2014, TSN's Dave Krikst created the BarDown brand for TSN across web and social platforms including TSN's YouTube page focused on attracting a younger audience.[1] The intent was to merge the pop-culture style of Buzzfeed with the sports content on TSN.[2] Krikst later described BarDown as "a place where you probably get to practise your craft.”[1] The name BarDown was chosen for its reference to the hockey term and that the "content will come from all sports."[3] The subsidiary originally began solely focused on hockey; they posted viral content and included branded content and advertising on their similarity named website.[2]

Current day

The main contributors to BarDown content are TSN producers Jesse Pollock, Corwin McCallum, Sam Glisserman, Daniel Zakrzewski, and Luca Celebre.[1] As their content developed into YouTube videos, BarDown also gained their own sponsors as a subsidiary[4] and their videos averaged more than 620,000 views.[1] The producers successfulness from BarDown led them to appear in more traditional TSN coverage such as pregame segments and part-time anchor roles on SportsCentre.[5] Another member of BarDown, Julia Tocheri, advanced to host Leafs Lunch before it was cancelled in 2023.[6] In September 2020, Bardown launched the BarDown Podcast, hosted by McCallum and Zakrzewski.[7] In honour of their five-year anniversary on YouTube, EA Sports added a BarDown-themed jersey in their World of Chel and Hockey Ultimate Team game modes. The jersey had been previously worn by BarDown members at their beer league games prior to the COVID-19 lockdown.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fitz-Gerald, Sean (December 30, 2019). "Going BarDown: How an act of protest from TSN created a sports site that caters to young fans". The Athletic. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Mudhar, Raju (March 10, 2014). "TSN goes searching for viral success with BarDown: Mudhar". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ Powell, Chris (March 5, 2014). "TSN LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL SUB-BRAND, BARDOWN.COM". Marketing Mag. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  4. ↑ Rody, Bree (November 15, 2019). "Five years later, TSN's BarDown is all grown up". Media of Canada. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  5. ↑ Fitz-Gerald, Sean (January 27, 2021). "How SportsCentre and Sportsnet Central are trying to keep your attention". The Athletic. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  6. ↑ Fitz-Gerald, Sean (November 16, 2021). "How Julia Tocheri went from Thunder Bay to BarDown to the radio on 'Leafs Lunch'". The Athletic. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  7. ↑ "The Best of Beer League Banter: TSN Launches the All-New BARDOWN PODCAST, Available Now". Bell Media. September 28, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Special Edition BarDown Jersey Included in EA SPORTS NHL 23". The Sports Network. February 3, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
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